Set Me Free
by L. Elizabeth1
Summary: Kiera wants to be free, she is feared and hated. Could someone who had been feared and hated understand her at last? This is a GaaraOC
1. Freedom

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. I do however own any people or places not mentioned in the series. This will be the first and last disclaimer.

Chapter 1

Lord Nikamaru of the Saei Clan stomped angrily though his home, a scroll crushed in his right hand. Teria, his wife ran to catch up with her livid husband before he entered the last room on the floor at the end of a very long hall.

"Oh Nikamaru you mustn't be so angry! She is only a teenager after all." Teria said, trying to reason with her husband.

"She has a responsibility to her clan and her village, I don't give a damn about her feelings anymore, it's about time she grew up!" he pushed open the door so roughly, it came off its hinges.

"Keira get up! This has got to stop right now. You are of age to marry and you will do so and become clan leader like you are required to do." Realizing that there was no answer coming from her sheets he paled slightly. He grabbed the edge of her covers and pulled them away to reveal only pillows. A breeze swept through the room as everyone looked to the open window.

"Oh no, not again." Teria shook her head and sighed. "Kaja, please inform the Chief Guard. Lady Keira has run away again." The nanny who had just entered bowed to the Lady of the House and slowly sauntered in the direction of the guard house. It would be no used to rush her old bones, she knew that Kiera was probably miles away by now, and it was going to be a long time until she was caught up with.

"Nanny Kaja, whats going on?" a small voice stopped her desent down the great stair case.

"Don't worry about a thing Lady Kanea, you just go on to bed." The nanny said with a small smile.

The fifteen year old girl with long blue hair and bright blue eyes nodded in understanding. "Keira has run off again right?" she sighed and walked away without an answer. She knew the ritual, her sister would run away every couple months or so. She knew how she broke the chakra seals on her windows and how every time her uncle would try and lock her away even tighter, her sister would just smile and figure her way out in an hour. Kanea, on the other hand, had no desire to run all over the country like her sister. She was content to stay in her cozy home, and follow the laws of the clan. She loved her sister, with all of her heart, but didn't understand her.

"Chief Taiki, we have a code 'blue haired brat.'" Kaja said with a small laugh into the microphone that connected with the guard house.

"Again? But its been at least two weeks, Kaja, you would think that a two week stay at home would make her realize how much she loves it here." A light masculine voice rang through, with a hint of laughter. "I will be up in a minute."

The Chief Guard was a tall very largely built man with blonde hair and green eyes. He was about forty-five, but he flirted with the women like he was twenty.

"What is it this time Kaja?" he leaned against the door as he was let in.

"You know that Miki clan boy Neikin?" Kaja asked, and Taiki nodded.

"Well apparently there was a plan to have him and the little miss get married, and you know how that must of went with Kiera." Taiki nodded his head, knowing where this was going. "Well, the first clue there was something wrong came when Kiera was nice to the boy, and asked him to go to the dojo for mild training to 'let him teach her some self defense'." Taiki laughed openly at that. "The poor boy didn't have a chance, he was taken away in a stretcher and the Miki clan said no to the marriage. The Lord was so mad with her!" she laughed fondly. "That boy was a very well trained Jonin too!"

"Well serves him right, everybody knows how strong Saei women are. He must have known something was up." Taiki said shaking his head. "Ah well, I guess I should get to work trying to find the little hellion. Goodnight Kaja" he bowed and went up the stairs to find his, undoubtedly, furious master.

* * *

"I think we've been kind enough to her, its time to bring out the big guns Masaharu." Nikamaru said gravely to his son. He had sent his guard out to search for clues to where she had gone, and messengers to the neighboring ally villages to ask the Kages for help to apprehend his unruly niece.

"Last time it almost killed her." Masaharu said unconcerned, picking a piece of lint off of his robes. He had never liked his cousin, and every time she ran away, he hoped it would be for good. But his father always brought her back, kicking and screaming.

"We won't tell the others, they tend to get soft when it comes to Kiera, her parents were the same way. Its time she learned her place, even if it truly does kill her. Nikamaru went to his desk and pulled out a small square seal with a kanji on it saying 'submission' and placed it in his pocket. This time he was not going to be nice, and he was going to let everyone see it.

* * *

Three days later the Saei messenger Youta arrived in Suna, carrying a scroll marked with the Saei family emblem on it. He was taken to the Kazakage's office and made to wait for two hours in a hot, dry room with no windows. Youta had been a servant in the Saei household since he was born, his mother being Kaja, the nanny. The young man sighed as the clock on the wall ticked by. He was used to being sent on missions like this, he was a Genin, and could never pass the Chunin exams so he was stuck doing the boring messenger stuff that always seemed to place him out of any action, fighting or otherwise. He smirked at the last thought and wondered if there were any sand beauties who would be so kind as to show him around town.

Youta was also Kiera's only friend, and the only one who actually understood her. He knew that all she wanted was to be free from the stranglehold her uncle had on her, but he knew that short of killing him, it would never happen.

"Youta of Cloud, the Kazakage will see you now." A pretty young woman smiled at him and gestured for him to follow her.

"I must have done something wonderful in a past life to be granted with the presence of such a beautiful woman." He flirted shamelessly and the young woman helplessly giggled, and slipped him her number as they came to the Kazakage's door. He knocked twice out of courtesy and let himself in.

Gaara of the Sand was not a tall, nor muscular man but his presence demanded attention and respect and Youta would give him the respect he deserved. Youta had heard the stories of the demon that once resided in him and the power he had over sand.

"Can I help you?" Gaara asked with a hint of annoyance. Youta gulped and handed him the scroll.

"My Lord Nikamaru of the Saei clan has sent me because he believes his niece, Lady Kiera of the Saei clan is hiding here. He wants to bring her home but knew to ask for your permission to bring five shinobi here to reclaim her."

"You need five shinobi to catch a run away princess?" Gaara raised his brow in doubt.

"No, my lord, about twenty would probably be able to take her down, but we thought five would be pushing it with your hospitality." Youta said quickly.

"Is this girl a threat to my people?" Gaara was now intrigued.

"No my lord, she is a threat to know one. She is a kind girl who will probably be brought out of hiding to save a cat from falling out of a tree or someother random act of kindness. The problem is that she is insainly powerful. As are all women in the Saei family. It is the Saei family Kekki Genkai that makes it so hard to bring her down."

"What is their Kekki Genkai?" Gaara wrote a few notes on a blank scroll as the man spoke on about the missing girl.

"Manipulation of electricity. Lightning, static electricity, she can even glow in the dark when she needs to. They are actually a branch of…" Youta stopped, thinking that he had spoken too much. "I think that is all I have to offer, my lord. What message can I send my master?" Youta bowed deeply, not wanting to look the Kazakage in the eye for fear of being asked more questions he could not answer.

"You may search for her here, no more than five and if any of my people are injured in this 'recapture' things will not go so smoothly for your master, am I understood?" Gaara stared down the messenger until he got the message.

"Yes my lord." Youta bowed and left quickly to inform Nikamaru and the others waiting at the edge of Suna.

In the shadows, a hooded figure watched the messenger's retreat down the dark streets. The watcher jumped onto a roof and sat there watching the man move quickly through the night, to an awaiting party of five.

"So, they found me already." She sighed. "They wont get me this time." She growled and jumped down to the streets and to the hotel she was staying in. Once she was safely in her room, she removed her long black cloak and shook out her short blue hair. Carefully she removed her iron and copper weaved shirt and skirt, and her fishnet leggings and undershirt. She dressed like a ninja, even though she had never graduated academy. Her father removed her from the Academy when she was seven and taught her everything he knew in secret. It was illegal for a ninja to teach high level jutsus like the ones Kiera knew to non- ninjas.

She smiled when she remembered when the village elders had tried to arrest her father.

Masami laughed and looked at his daughter.

"Dear, these men want to take your daddy away, what do you think about that?" he smiled down to the nine year old girl who smiled back.

"They would have to go through me daddy." She said with an errie calm that unnerved the three Jonin who came to arrest him.

"You see guys, you don't want to make my little princess upset do you?" he asked. By the time Kiera was nine, her father had gone almost completely mad over the death of her mother three years earlier.

"Just come with us and no one will get hurt." One of the Jonin said slowly.

"Kiera?" Masami stepped back from the door, allowing his daughter to come in front.

"Bang." She whispered and three bolts of lighting came from nowhere nearly killing the three ninja. The stunned Jonin looked at the little girl whos eyes were nearly white with only a trace of blue. Sparks cackled all around her and she was smiling. The Jonin knew when to get the hell out of there and her father died without any convictions six months later.

She had grown up an outcast. The village knew all about the Saei family Kekki Genkai and about the two strongest women to come out of that family. Both women were strong ninja who fought to protect their village. Azusa, one of the first Saei women to come to Cloud was said to have been the strongest woman who ever lived, followed closely by her own daughter, and Kiera's grandmother Fukiyo. The thing that made Azusa so powerful was her complete mastery of the Kekki Genkai and her ancestor's Kekki Genkai as well. The Saei family was a direct descendents of both the Uchiha clan and the Hyuuga clan. There was some strange story about a Goddess or something but Kiera couldn't remember the tale. But it was said that Azusa could not only fight with her Kekki Genkai the Noxlight, but use the Sharingan and the Byakugan as well.

Kiera wanted to be as strong as her great- grandmother, and would stop at nothing to achieve her goal. She even used her great- grandmother's weapon and most of her attacks. The thin metal bull whip was place on top of her metallic clothing as she readied herself for a shower.

The light played on all the scars marring her pale skin. Her father had nearly killed her several times in their "training". She was forced to train for six hours every day, and after her father died, she had upped her training time to ten hours every day.

Tomorrow would be another day, a day she would have to fight her family once again. Tomorrow she would not fail to make them realize that all she wanted, all she needed was to be set free.

* * *

A/N: I'm trying a new approach. Please read and review. 


	2. Submission

Disclaimer: READ THE OTHER DISCLAIMERS

Chapter 2

Kanea awoke with a start in the middle of the night. She was among the party that was bringing her sister home. It took a Saei woman for the binding ritual to work, and since she was the only direct Saei woman besides her sister, she was taken out of her nice warm bed and made to camp in the middle of the desert. She sighed and looked around, making sure she was safe before standing up and walking to the edge of their little camp. It was five of them to bring her back. Kanea, Nikamaru, Masaharu, Taiki, and Youta were the unlucky few this time. It did strike her odd that her uncle AND her cousin were among the party, but she brushed it away quickly. Kanea looked to Suna, looking hard to see if she could see her missing sister. She quickly gave up with a sigh and returned to her sleeping bed. She looked over to where her uncle was sleeping, knowing that he wasn't really sleeping at all. She could tell when people where faking it, and he most certainly was.

* * *

Gaara of the Sand drummed his fingers on his desk, reading a scroll sent by the Konoha Hokage, Tsunade. Knowing that he hadn't been told the whole truth, and was turning over a new leaf to not torture people as much, he requested information known about the Saei Clan of Cloud.

_Gaara of the Sand, Kazakage of Suna:_

_The information you requested is very vague, and most was blacked out. There was someone who didn't want the records to be known. I am trying to find out information about who could have erased these files, as well as on the clan itself. What is known is the clan was first seen by a wandering woman named Azusa who married a Cloud ninja and had a daughter Fukiyo. The Kekki Genkai is known as the Noxlight and they are able to control electricity. _

_I did research on the runaway girl as well, and apparently she has done this before. She is the next in line for clan leader, and has either injured or scared away any possible suiter for marriage. All clan leaders must marry before their twentieth birthday, when they are named the clan leader. She is nineteen, and will be twenty in three months. Kiera is the daughter of Masami and Saeka, granddaughter of Fukiyo herself. It is said that this girl has complete control over her Kekki Genkai and is a force to be reckoned with when angry. Until this matter is resolved, I request that these three messengers remain in Suna with you. Also, due to your upcoming birthday, the one in particular 'requested from me' to no end to visit. _

_I wish you a happy birthday and that this matter be resolved without any trouble. _

_Tsunade, Hokage of Konoha._

Gaara looked up to the three people standing at his desk. The loud blonde smiled enthusiastically upon his completion of the letter, the pink haired medic looked at the blond and rolled her eyes, the long haired Byakugan user just stared forward waiting for a response.

"Naruto, what does this mean here, when you 'requested' from Tsunade to no end to visit?" Gaara asked with a small smile. He knew exactly what it meant but found his stories humorus.

"Oh well granny wouldn't let me go at first, but I left her a few reminders about how much I deserve to go in her office on sticky notes." Naruto explained. Sakura snorted and looked at the Kazakage.

"More like he left three hundred yellow notes covering every square inch of her office when she was doing rounds in the hospital. She was so mad when she saw them that she decided to send Naruto away so she wouldn't kill him." She laughed at his pout.

"And what about you two?" Gaara asked the stotic Hyuga.

"Sakura wanted to visit with the hospital and update their medical database, and I was granted a vacation, and wished to come here." He answered, as if he was giving a report to his Hokage.

"Very well, there is a three bedroom apartment used for visiting Konoha shinobi about a block from here, I'm sure you remember where it is Naruto." Gaara shuffled his papers into an organized pile and looked at the three with a slight smile. "Please make yourselves at home."

* * *

Kiera woke around two AM, dressed in her metal outfit and began stretching for her morning workout. She practiced a few kicks and punches, even though she was mostly a weapons fighter. There were times when she was unarmed and hand to hand combat became necessary.

Closing her eyes for meditation she set her goal to hold the Byakugan for at least two minutes. The girl consentrated hard and soon made a few hand seals that activated the Byakugan. The pain came full force, but she held it. Her eyes adjusted to the light and her surroundings but a rush of chakra to her head made her loose her focus and her eyes returned to normal. She re-steadied her breath and heart rate and stood up off of the floor.

"Damn, not good enough." She scolded herself. The sun was still four hours away but she could feel her family getting ready to reclaim her.

* * *

"I think we should be aware of what the Cloud nin are doing this morning. Naruto, would you like to accompany me?" Gaara asked as they were walking out of the tower.

"Sure!" the blonde said loudly, happy to be able to assist his friend in any way. Sakura and Neji also agreed to take a trip around town, but more to see the sights than to watch other shinobi.

"Are they them?" Naruto whispered to Gaara as five figures walked toward them.

"Hai." He answered and readied himself to speak with the clan leader. He was a tall imposing man who had long dark blue hair and dark blue eyes. The paleness of his skin indicated that he wasn't used to being out in the hot desert sun, and that it was going to take a toll on him before noon. On his right were a man who looked like a younger version of him, and a girl who was not even a teenager. On his left was the messenger who asked his permission to enter his village, and a blonde shinobi with a guard symbol on his vest.

"Good morning Kazakage." The leader said bowing, the others bowed deeply as well. "I am truly sorry about the inconvenience, but my niece does not respect her people enough to stay where she is needed." He said with a small fake smile.

Gaara merely bowed and looked over the shinobi present. The leader turned to the young girl and nodded to her. The girl did a few rapid hand signs and shouted "Noxlight". Her eyes became a pale blue similar to Neji's and she scanned the village.

"She is coming towards us, Uncle." The girl said in a bored tone. Neji was silently intrigued with the young girl's Kekki Genkai and made a mental note to research it in the future.

In the distance, a hooded figure started walking straight toward where they were all standing.

"It seems she wants to go home after all." Gaara said unamused.

"Oh no my Lord, she just wants us to back off. This is her predator march, and she wants us to know she is not backing down." The messenger Youta exclaimed nonchalantly.

The girl was now a hundred feet away and closing in. The leader, Nikamaru sighed deeply.

Twenty feet and the girl stopped.

"How do you want to do this Uncle, five against one or are you going to fight me yourself? I will let you decide." She spoke with a hint of boredom in her voice. Her position was relaxed and even lazy, but the five other Cloud members were rigid with anticipation, like she was a lion ready to pounce.

"Why don't we skip all this and you come home?" Nikamaru suggested.

"Oh please, you don't think that will actually work do you?" she teased. Gaara and the Konoha shinobi watched the interaction with interest.

"Kanea dear, how are you today?" the girl's voice turned a different note. She asked as a concerned sister would. "You did bring sunblock right?" she asked with a hint of worry. The younger sister smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Of course I did Kiera, do you think I am crazy or something?" she answered, putting her hands on her hips.

"Of course I don't think you are crazy, I know it!" Kiera teased. Kanea stuck her tongue out. The air between them pure loving sister to sister teasing.

Kiera finally removed her cloak, and shook out her spiky blue hair. She had a smile on her face as she threw her cloak to the ground. She adjusted the gloves on her hands which where both leather and steel, and checked her whip at her side.

Gaara found it hard to look away from the strange girl, she was literally glowing in the sun with all the metal she was wearing. Sakura couldn't help but notice that her outfit must weigh at least a hundred pounds, without the bull whip. Neji saw to her chakra channels which were surrounded by a blue presence, as if a protection barrier.

"Shall we take this further away, I don't want to cause trouble in this village." She said, taking a good look at Gaara.

"Oh I don't think that will be nessisary Kiera." Her uncle said calmly and rushed to her front for an attack. She blocked it easily, but became too overconfident she didn't watch the others. Masaharu came in from the back and placed the seal on her back. Kiera cursed herself for falling for the trap and stopped moving. She looked at her sister who was wide eyed in fear, and to her friend who looked just plain angry. She closed her eyes as Nikamaru made the hand seals.

And then the pain came. She screamed loudly and fell to the ground, Kanea rushed forward but was stopped by Kiera's words.

"Don't sister! You know what will happen to you if you get too close!" she ground out at another wave of pain rushed through her body.

"You never listen, do you? I have taken care of you all these years and this is how you repay me, by running off any chance you get." Nikamaru shouted over the girl's screams.

"Uncle no!" Kanea screamed.

"Please master, you'll kill her!" Youta shouted.

"My lord, please think about this!" Taiki restrained Youta from assisting his friend.

Blood started to come out of her mouth and Naruto couldn't hold back any more.

"Stop it you bastard!" he rushed forward, to be stopped by Neji.

"He is using her body's electricity to burn out her chakra channels, if you get too close you will get electrocuted." He explained, with anger in his voice.

Suddenly sand started pooling at Nikamaru's feet and traveled up his body, Nikamaru lost his concentration and Kiera stopped screaming. Sakura looked to Neji who gave her a nod that it was now safe. She rushed to the girl placing a hand over her heart.

"She needs to get to the hospital right away." She said shakily. Naruto nodded and picked up the unconscious girl.

Gaara was standing in front of the Saei leader with a deep anger in his eyes.

"You come into my village and torture your own niece, you are to leave immediately and be lucky I am being so generous." Gaara spat. He looked over to the sobbing girl, being held by the messenger.

"You two may return in two months to speak with the girl." And with that the sand started to dissipate and the Cloud shinobi made their retreat.

* * *

"How is she?" Gaara asked as Sakura exited the room the girl was being kept in.

"Sleeping. That vial man nearly killed her though, it will be a while before she can use chakra correctly. There are other things I am worried about as well Gaara." She lowered her voice and ushered him into the room. The girl was wearing a simple grey shirt and sweat pants now and looked peaceful in the cold hospital room.

"She has scars on her chakra channels, this has happened to her before. I think this time he was trying to kill her in front of her sister to make a point. Also, there are deep scars all over her body, mostly knife wounds. She isn't a shinobi, I checked. Her sister is a genin, but Kiera was removed from academy when she was a child, and never went back. This girl has an enormous chakra reserve and it looks as though she knows how to use it properly. But Gaara, this girl has been beaten to a pulp from the inside out. It is my perfessional opion that she not be released to her family until she is stable to make that decision. There is even a by-law that gives to a power to house a person from another village if you think he/she is in danger in their village." Sakura pleaded with him with her eyes to not let her return to that monster.

"I will see what can be done, Sakura thank you." Gaara bowed slightly and took a last look at the girl sleeping in the bed. In a flash he saw himself laying there. He shook his head and the vision had gone.

* * *

"I cant believe that jerk! What kind of uncle would try and kill their own niece?" Naruto paced around the apartment, waiting for Sakura to get there. Neji watched the blonde with growing agitation.

"Naruto, sit down. Pacing will not bring Sakura home any quicker." He reasoned and Naruto sighed and plopped down on a chair.

* * *

Dreams plagued Kiera's sleep, she heard her sister's cries, Youta's screams of protest, her mother's voice telling her stories of her family, and her father's last words.

"Kiera, be strong. Don't let them bring you down, you are stronger then they are not just in power. Use it." And the sounds stopped, and she was able to sleep at last.

* * *

A/N: here you go! Please read and review! 


	3. Realizations

Disclaimer: READ THE OTHER DISCLAIMERS

Chapter 3

Kiera opened her eyes to a bright room with two porthole type windows. The floor was white linoleum and free from rugs. A door that led to a bathroom was partially open, revealing a sink, and the other door in the room connected with the hallway outside.

She tried to sit up, but was brought back down by a wave of pain throughout her body.

"Great." She mumbled, and winced. To talk even hurt. She felt drained and helpless laying in that bed, at the mercy of others.

The door opened slowly and the pink haired girl from the confrontation with Kiera's family was walking in the room with a clip board and a medical apron on. The pink girl smiled warmly at the newly awake girl lying in the bed.

"How do you feel?" The pink haired girl asked sincerely as she wrote some notes on the clipboard.

"Wonderful." Kiera remarked sarcastically. She didn't need this girl's pity, or help. She was a loner, used to taking care of herself, and watching out for her baby sister.

"Your uncle burned out a lot of your chakra channels, so I would advise against using any chakra for at least two weeks." The pink haired girl continued, without even noticing the sarcasm. "I am Sakura of Konoha, by the way." She smiled and turned to leave.

"Wait." Kiera began. "Why did you stop him from killing me? Its not like you people know me or anything."

"What kind of people would we be if we just let someone get tortured right in front of us?" Sakura furrowed her brow.

"You'd be normal in my village." Kiera ground out, pain coming back every word she spoke.

"Well this isn't Cloud, so be happy you are still alive." Sakura said with a note of finality, and walked to the door, opened it and let her self out.

* * *

"How is she?" Naruto hounded Sakura as she walked in the apartment. Sakura set her stuff down and looked at the blonde standing in front of her.

"Alive." She said simply and went to her room, leaving a confused Naruto behind.

"Alive? What is that supposed to mean? SAKURA!" he shouted and was hit in the head with a book from Neji.

"Leave her be Naruto, she is exhausted. Sakura will tell us what is going on when she is rested." Neji scolded and turned to walk out of the apartment.

"Where are you going?" Naruto whined.

"I am going to train with Kankuro, he believes his puppets can defeat the Gentle Fist." Neji said with a smirk, and left.

"I know! I will go visit Gaara, maybe he will want to train with me." Naruto grinned and left the apartment quickly, heading for the Kazakage's office.

* * *

Gaara was sitting at his desk, filling through a mound of paperwork when a whirlwind of mass destruction, called Naruto, came barging into his office. Gaara sighed, with deep annoyance and glared at the blonde Konoha ninja.

"Gaara, lets go train, you have been doing paperwork since we got here." Naruto sat down in a chair in front of his desk and picked up a paperweight that looked like a sand snake.

"Naruto, as you can see I am busy, perhaps later would be a better time to train." Gaara replied evenly, keeping his temper.

"But that's boring! Let me just kick your butt real quick and then you can get back to your work." Naruto smirked, knowing Gaara couldn't resist the bait. Gaara's eye twitched and he gave a big sigh.

"Fine." He said finally to a overjoyed Naruto.

* * *

Kiera stood out of her bed, ignoring her body's screams of protests to stay in bed. She dressed slowly in her own clothes, not liking the feeling of not having metal against her skin. When she was dressed, she carefully pushed out the glass on one of the windows, and crawled out to the ledge. She took her whip in her right hand and cracked it towards a clothes line a few feet below. The end of the whip wrapped around the line and Kiera let her self fall, wincing when the whip caught her, jarring her pained body. Grabbing on to the line with one hand, she released the whip and sent it to a light post, and swung to the ground. She didn't need chakra to escape the hospital.

* * *

"Sakura-san!" a young medic banged on the door to the apartment. Sakura opened the door quickly to reveal a harassed Yoko.

"She left the hospital!" Yoko exclaimed.

"How? She could barely move." But then Sakura had seen her old sensei Kakashi escape the hospital with much worse injuries. Sakura nodded and sent the young medic back to the hospital. She grabbed her gloves and sandals and ran out the door to look for the run away girl.

Sakura found Gaara and Naruto sparing a few blocks from the apartment. She explained the situation and they each set off in different directions.

Gaara walked down a back street, keeping his eyes open to anything unusual. He soon heard the sounds of labored breathing in an abandoned building. Gaara entered cautiously, not knowing if it was a trap. Lying a few feet in front of him was Kiera. She was curled in a ball, and pain was evedent in her face. Upon noticing the Kazakage, Kiera tried to stand.

"Please, just stay still." Gaara said calmly. Kiera rolled her eyes and stood up anyway. Once on her feet, Kiera took a fighting stance.

"You wish to fight me when you cannot use chakra, and you can barely move from the pain?" Gaara asked, with amusement.

"I've been worse." Kiera answered seriously.

"I do not wish to hurt you, Lady Kiera." Gaara said, turning away from her.

"Its just Kiera, Kiera! Not lady, not miss, not sama, just Kiera!" electricity cracked around her as her anger grew. Gaara turned back to the girl.

"They you may call me Gaara. Please, wont you at least stay in a proper room, if you wont stay in the hospital." Gaara looked at the girl, who was contemplating what he said.

"Fine, _Kazakage_, I will stay in the hotel." She said and walked towards the door, brushing past Gaara almost rudely.

"Very well, _Lady_ Kiera." He turned to follow her, noticing her tense at his words.

For the next few days, Kiera was rude and openly hostile to anyone who came near her. Sakura developed a deep dislike for the girl, Naruto thought she was just a bitch, but Gaara said nothing to her insults. He recognized her anger as fear, but what was she afraid of?

Kiera began training for her ten hours a day only a week after the fight. Sakura shook her head in disgust at the torture Kiera was doing to her body. Sakura, Naruto, and Neji returned to Konoha the day after Gaara's birthday, ten days after Kiera was injured.

One night Kiera was training in the dark training grounds when she felt the air change, a thick tenseness came across her, and she couldn't shake it.

"Noxlight!" she searched the area with her night vision and saw a hole in one of the main walls. She gasped slightly and ran full tilt to the Kazakage's home.

"Gaara!" she shouted, banging on the front door. Gaara came down a few moments later, fully dressed, and looking as if he was never asleep in the first place.

"What is it?" Gaara asked concerned.

"Intruders, they broke in from the south wall." She reported and they were off, alerting the guards and rounding up shinobi for search parties. Soon the intruders, Sound ninja, we captured and taken away for questioning. It was no doubt that they were there to assonate the Kazakage. Gaara looked at Kiera for a long awkward moment.

"What?" she asked at last, breaking the tension.

"Why did you alert me there were intruders, this isn't your village, and you don't like me, so why?"

"You saved me, sheltered me, and protected me from my family. I owed you one. Plus, there could have been innocent people hurt by those mongrels." Kiera clarified. Gaara smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kiera looked at his hand strangely, and then up into his face.

"Thank you." He said simply and walked away, leaving the lingering warmth of his hand behind. A small blush creped into her face before she sprang off to her room, her safety.

Two nights after that she was sitting on the roof of the hotel when she noticed sand spiraling around her. She turned to see Gaara, being lifted by sand to the roof. He stepped down off of the sand and went to sit next to Kiera.

"You don't sleep much do you?" Kiera asked, looking to the entrance of the city.

"Apparently neither do you." He retorted. They sat in silence for about an hour, Kiera stole glances every now and then to try and judge what he was thinking.

"I can only keep you here three more days, the council wont allow for a war against Cloud because we are holding one of their 'clan leaders to be'. I am sorry I couldn't do more." Gaara turned to see her reaction.

"So you came up here to tell me you are kicking me out? Well isn't that wonderful, thank you ever so much Gaara." She stood up and went to leave when a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"What will you do?" She shook off his warm hand and turned her body to face him.

"What is there left to do but kill my clan?" She said with an eerie calm.

"So you would become like Itachi Uchiha, a criminal because you cant take the responsibility to do what is best for your people?" Gaara stood as well, anger in his voice.

"Well he is family, I suppose. Perhaps he could get me into Akatsuki." She struck a nerve with the mention of the people who killed him once before. His chakra flared, and her's did as well.

"You are a brat, a spoiled brat who cant live up to responsibility." Gaara growled.

"You were a monster, who was hated by his village, I though you could understand me a little better than that. When I go back, my village will arrest me on some stupid charge, and my uncle will order my execution. I have saved their asses so many times, and this is how I am repaid." She spat. "They see me as a monster Gaara, an evil creature that can only destroy. Why don't I prove their judgments to be correct?"

Gaara's eyes softened a little, he knew what she felt to be hated by a village but protect it all the same. To have family try and kill them, to be alone and caged, at the mercy of a higher being. With him it was his demon, with her it was the law.

"Go then, kill your clan, bathe in their blood. But it wont bring you peace." He said and turned to leave.

"No, never peace. But maybe freedom." She said softly.

"No, people like us can never be free Kiera, we are chained by our pasts, imoblized by what we have done. If you kill them, you will become exactly what they want you to become. Trapped." Gaara stepped off of the roof and onto his sand. "Think about it."

As soon as he was gone, a single tear ran down her face, he was right. She could never be free, she would have to kill or be killed but she would never have a life worth living.

Unless…

A/N: Cliffy! PLEASE PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!


	4. Suggestions

Disclaimer: READ THE OTHER DISCLAIMERS

Chapter 4

Kiera left the conference room with a smug look. She passed Gaara on the way out of the Kazekage building, and gave him a warm smile and a 'good morning'. Gaara rose his eyebrows suspiciously, but wished her a pleasant day and went up to his office.

"Good morning Gaara-sama, the elders would like a moment of your time when it is convenient." His secretary Emika said with a smile. Gaara again raised his brows in suspicion and thanked the girl.

'Better get this over with now.' He said to himself and headed up to the top floor where the village elders worked. They had been making some strange new 'suggestions' to the Kazekage. When the elders 'suggests' something, it usually meant, 'do it or we will find a way to make your life hell and then create a new law around it so you have to follow it anyway you have no choice in this matter so get to liking it.' Gaara hated the power these old people had over him, but if the last four Kazekages couldn't do anything about it, neither could he.

He knocked on the chamber doors loudly and was greeted by a "Come in."

* * *

"You look scarily happy today Kiera, push any old ladies down a flight of stairs?" Kankuro teased. He had run into her on his way to the Kazekage's office. She was sitting on a park bench, eating an ice cream cone with a sweet smile on her face. He also noticed six little kids smiling at her, also holding ice cream cones.

"You bought kids ice cream cones?" Kankuro asked nervously. Kiera just smiled and took another bite of her ice cream. Now Kankuro was scared, he had never seen the Cloud girl act this… human.

"You know, sarcasm is anger's ugly cousin Kankuro. It is such a beautiful day, I just thought I would enjoy it. How are you doing today?" Kiera smiled warmly at the bewildered puppet master.

"Uh, alright I guess. Ha… have you seen Gaara today?" He asked nervously.

"Sure! I passed him on my way out of the Kazekage's office, he seemed as tense as you today. You guys need to lighten up more often, perhaps you should see the city's massage therapist." Kiera stood and finished her ice cream. "Well, I got to go. Have a nice day Kankuro!" she smiled and walked away humming a tune.

"Wonder what the hell that was all about." Kankuro sighed.

* * *

"Pardon?" Gaara asked, his jaw nearing the floor at the elder's 'suggestion'.

"It would be a good example for the village." One elder said reasonably.

"Perhaps it would help you relate to the people easier, not just the Shinobi, but the civilian villagers as well." Another said.

"But…" Gaara said weakly.

"Dear boy, we wont _force_ you but we strongly _recommend _that you think carefully on this." A third elder said with narrowed eyes.

"How…" Gaara looked to the first elder.

"Why that sweet Cloud girl brought it to our attention. She is quite a dear, very polite. Unlike most kids these days." The first said, the others nodded in agreement.

"Kiera…?" Gaara scoffed at the thought of Kiera being 'sweet'.

"Due to her 'circumstances' I believe it would greatly benefit her as well, and build relations with Cloud. These kinds of things builds good allies." The third elder said, the others nodded.

"But…" Gaara tried to protest.

"Just think about how much this would benefit your village Gaara, don't be so selfish." The second chastised.

"Hai." Gaara said defeated. He turned away from the old men who had, in one conversation, put a huge burden on his chest. He should have realized that Kiera was up to no good when she left the office with a smile. Now the elders put this in front of him.

For the good of the village, to make allies with Cloud, to encourage other shinobi to follow his example, and to be seen as more of a person to the civilians. He was 'suggested' to do something he never thought himself ever doing.

"Kankuro." He called to his brother, and gripped his arm for support.

"Gaara? What's wrong?" Kankuro asked concerned.

"They… they want me to marry Kiera."

* * *

Kiera smiled to herself as she polished her metallic outfit, whip and her weapons.

'Gaara would be getting the news right about now' she thought lightly. After the argument with Gaara the night before, she did some serious thinking. Gaara was absolutely right, she couldn't kill her clan, nor could she return and do as they say. She was trapped, and there was no way she was ever not going to be in some kind of cage. But… she could change who her captor was. Marriage was always the last thing she wanted. Some guy who would use her for her power and money, and make her miserable for the rest of her life was what her family had in mind. Marrying a Kazekage, though… her family would have to agree, because of the pressure of the village itself for an alliance with Suna. She would have to stay in Suna with her 'husband' and would never be forced to become clan leader because of her duties to the Sand village. It was a way out for her, barring the fact that she would have to get married though. Gaara wasn't that bad of a guy when she thought deep about it. He was strong, a loyal person to his village and family, and he didn't seem the kind who would chain her to the ground for her whole life. If there was anyone she would consider marrying, it would be him. That is why she went to the village elders, planted the idea of 'marriage would be beneficial in so many ways'. She smiled and was polite, laughed at the old men's jokes and complemented the hell out of any suggestion they came up with. Soon, all of her terms and ideas were coming from their mouths like they thought of it themselves.

They immediately sent out a message to her people and village, telling them that the Kazekage was to court her, and she should remain in Suna for a 'pending engagement'. She couldn't believe how her plan had worked out so well.

A nagging guilt plagued the back of her head as she thought about how lucky she was, she was trapping Gaara in this as well as herself. She would try to dismiss it by saying that she would be a good wife, and very loyal to this village. She had no interest in being a bitch to him any longer, for this to work, she needed him.

* * *

"Marry her?" Kankuro asked dumbfounded. They were in Gaara's office now, and the Kazekage had his head on his desk. "They cant do that!"

"No, but they can 'suggest' it to me. Which means, yes they can make me." Gaara mumbled through his paperwork.

"What are you going to do?" Kankuro asked, sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

"I've got to talk to her, make her see that she cant possibly marry me." Gaara raised his head, with a bit of hope in his eyes.

"Ha! This is her way to not get murdered by her village, she went out of her way to get the elders to 'suggest' that you marry her. She doesn't even know you, she doesn't know this village, and yet she is willing to trap herself her for the rest of her life and have your children."

Gaara paled at the mention of children, groaned and put his head back down on his desk.

"Trapped." He mused out loud. Just the night before he told her she was trapped, and now she was securing her captivity.

"Kankuro, mind the office for me. I have to find this girl." Gaara stood up and rushed out the door.

"Well, this is the last thing I thought could happen to Gaara." Kankuro laughed slightly.

* * *

"Kiera. What are you thinking?" Gaara looked angrily at the blue haired girl. The expression Gaara wore made Kiera take a step back into her hotel room. Gaara came in and slammed the door behind him.

"I'm sorry, I just thought that maybe this could work for both of us…" Kiera began.

"Both of us? Do you think I would want to marry a stupid, weak, manipulative person like you? You come in to MY VILLAGE and mess around with my life. You don't even know me, Kiera!" he slammed his fist into the wall next to her face. Her eyes widened, but she remained where she was. She deserved anything she got, she knew that.

"I don't know anything about you, except what I see. I see a dumb child who has to bring down everyone around her to make herself feel better. You disgust me Kiera, and if I have to marry you, don't ever expect me to love you."

A tear ran down Kiera's face as Gaara screamed at her. He was right, she could never expect him to even like her after all she had done. She bowed her head, letting the tear fall to the ground. She bared her neck to the man who has killed hundreds out of boredom. Gaara was taken aback by her sudden submission.

"I am sorry Gaara-sama." She choked. "I will leave if that is what you want. You have proven that you do not care to ever know my true character. I only wished to live, and perhaps lead a life with a bit of happiness in it. No one's words have ever hurt me as yours have just now. If you want me to leave, then I shall." Gaara felt a tug of regret for his words. The girl was truly upset, even though she was trying so hard to hide it.

"Stay." He ground out and left the room with a slam of the door.

* * *

_"Kiera." Her mother cooed. The little girl smiled and ran up to her mother for a hug. _

_"Momma, how did you make my name?" The little girl was placed on her mother's lap and bounced up and down._

_"Well, there was this traveler who came into a restaurant your father and I were in when I was pregnant with you. He started telling tales of his adventures, and told about a beautiful girl who he was deeply in love with. She had saved his life, you see, pushed him out of the way of a flyaway arrow of a hunter. He said her name was Kiera, and that she was the strongest, bravest woman he had ever met. I thought it was a strange name, but as I said it, it flowed nicely off my tongue. Also I knew that you would be both beautiful and strong, and so I named you Kiera." Her mother smiled at her gently. _

_"Mommy, do I have to get married?" Little Kiera asked, playing with her long hair absently._

_"No Kiera, you may live your life as you want." She said after a long pause_.

"You were wrong mother. I will never be free." Kiera said wistfully before jumping out the window.

* * *

"Well?" Kankuro asked as his brother walked in the door.

"I… I called her awful names and made her cry." Gaara said in a daze.

"Made Kiera cry? That brick can cry?" Kankuro asked amused, but seeing the look on his brother's face, turned the conversation around.

"Well, whats going on? Are you going to marry her?"

"I don't know, I just…" Gaara stopped and looked at his brother. "Could you cancel my appointments for today, I think I need a walk." Gaara walked to the door and turned back to his brother.

"What would you do?" he asked.

"I don't know Gaara, I don't know."

* * *

Gaara walked twenty miles away from the city before he realized how far out he really was. Sighing, he turned to go back to his village.

"What do we have here, a lost Kazekage?" a voice taunted. Gaara turned to see thirty well trained, very deadly Mist Shinobi.

"An invasion?" Gaara deadpanned.

"An assignation." The Mist shinobi clarified, and the fight was on.

* * *

A/N: Please review… please? 


	5. Dinner

Disclaimer: READ THE OTHER DISCLAIMERS

Chapter 5

Gaara's sand whipped forward, incasing two Mist shinobi in his Sand Coffin easily. He managed to fight off most of them, but his chakra was running low, and there was still twenty left. Before he realized what was happening, a Mist shinobi had gotten past his sand and slammed his fist into Gaara's face. Gaara got a hold of himself and blocked attack after attack from the front as two more Mist attacked from behind. Gaara was outnumbered and loosing the battle. Out of Chakra and ideas, Gaara found himself being held in the air by his throat. The Mist shinobi who had him was sneering in triumph.

"Looks like you aint so tough after all little sand brat." The Mist nin said with a laugh. The Mist shinobi grabbed a kunai and brought it down towards Gaara's head. Gaara closed his eyes, he thought about his sister who was living in Leaf with the lazy Shikamaru, and his brother who would be the only one left in Suna to take over as Leader. He knew his brother never wanted that role, and as oldest was most likely to get it over Gaara when his father was alive. Kankuro was so relieved when Gaara took command, that he skipped around town for a week.

He thought of his friends in Konoha, and Naruto who saved his life so many times before. That loud annoying blonde was the best friend he ever had, and he was grateful to him for opening his eyes to the world of friendship. Sakura with the pink hair who was destined to become more powerful that her sensei Tsunade.

He held his breath for the blow, but it never came. Gaara opened his eyes and saw that the Mist nin had a confused look on his face. Around the Mist nin's wrist was a silver band.

"Get your filthy hands off of him." A deep growl came from behind the Mist nin before the Mist was ripped backwards, releasing his grip on Gaara.

Standing in the blazing sun was a figure glowing in silver and gold. She had a long whip which was now wrapped around the Mist nin's throat, choking the life from him. When he was dead, the girl looked up to the stunned Mist shinobi. She had bright blue hair, and pearly almost white eyes, and electricity was cackling around her in her anger.

"Kiera?" Gaara gasped, and the Mist nin attacked the girl. She handled her weapon like it was a living part of her arm, striking like a cobra and sending killing currents through her attackers.

"Tsunami distruction!" One nin screamed and made hand signals which brought a tidal wave of summoned water to come hurtling at her. She smirked and held out her hand, sending a pulse through the air, halting the water and pushing it towards the sky.

"Hey idiots, water is a conductor." She smirked and did rapid hand signals.

"Electric Rain!" she shouted and the water came crashing down on the Mist shinobi, sending currents through the metallic elements in the water. The remaining Mist nin were killed except one, there would be need for some answers after all. She shocked his body into an unconscious state and turned to find Gaara staring at her with a mixture of awe and gratitude.

"Why did you save me, after the way I treated you." Gaara stood from the ground and walked over to the now blue eyed Cloud girl.

"You may not like me, and that is fine. But I respect you and the way your village loves you, and when I felt the enemy so close… I got scared." She lowered her voice slightly and blushed.

"Not because you are my ticket to a non destructive life, but because you helped me when I needed it, no matter how awful I was to you. I respect you Gaara, and I couldn't live with myself if anything bad were to happen to you or anyone in this village because I closed my eyes." She turned to leave.

"Will you stay here Kiera?" she stopped suddenly and turned to face him.

"Do you want me to stay?" she asked slowly.

"You proved me wrong. I thought you were a shallow brat, but you're not. You would really give your life for this village and I couldn't marry anyone who wouldn't give their life to protect Suna. Even though I don't agree with marrying a complete stranger, you may stay, and become my wife if that is your wish." Gaara looked at the girl who was still blushing.

"Wow Gaara, how romantic." She laughed slightly, causing him to crack a smile as well.

"Lets get out of here shall we?" Gaara started walking towards Suna, with Kiera at his side.

* * *

"You are really going to marry her?" Kankuro asked bewildered. "I thought you made her cry?" 

"I did, and then she turned around and saved my life. Strange how things work out." Gaara mused out loud looking at his older brother seated in front of him.

"So you are marrying her because she saved your life?" Kankuro asked confused.

"No, I am marrying her because she would fight beside me, beside Suna. There aren't many girls who would put their life on the line to protect a village she doesn't belong to."

"No I suppose not, but really. Marrying her?"

"Does Temari know?" Gaara looked to the window, just imagining his sister breaking the door down wondering why she was the last to know anything.

"Yeah, sent a messenger out yesterday. She isn't going to be happy."

"No probably not. Kiera's sister and friend are coming tonight. They are going to stay in the hotel Kiera is at, I cant convince her to move into the house with us though. There are plenty of rooms, but she says that 'people will talk' if she moved in before the marriage. I think she was just giving me a hard time though."

"Yeah, I cant imagine Kiera caring about something like that." Kankuro cracked a smile.

"She is coming to dinner tonight though, with her sister and friend. You can make it, right?" Gaara looked as at Kankuro with the 'you have no choice' face and smiled when Kankuro nodded.

Suddenly the door was blown off its hinges and an angry older sister stood in the doorway with a crying baby in her arms.

"YOU GET ENGAGED AND YOU DON'T EVEN TELL ME THAT YOU ARE SEEING SOMEONE! I AM YOUR SISTER GAARA!" Kankuro and Gaara looked at Temari with jaws dropped. The blonde woman took a deep breath and handed her son to Kankuro to finish yelling at her younger brother. Kankuro took the baby awkwardly and slipped out of the room to avoid his or his nephew from getting hit by any flying objects.

* * *

"Kiera!" Kiera laughed as her little sister flew into her arms and her best friend wrapped his arms around the both of them. 

"Come on, lets get you guys settled." It had been three days since the fray in the desert and her sister and Youta had come to visit. Naturally any other members of her family were prohibited from entering without expressed consent from the Kazekage. She showed them to their rooms and after they were done unpacking they came up to hers.

"So you are getting married." Youta said with a grin on his face. "Its about time you found someone you like, I was beginning to think you were going to be a fat old cat lady before you turned thirty." Kiera promptly hit Youta in the head, causing a fit of giggles from Kanea.

"Whats the Kazekage like?" Kanea asked, with a dreamy expression on her face, sitting at the edge of her bed.

"He is okay, you know just a normal guy. Well, maybe not _normal_ per say, but he is at least a decent character." Kanea looked at her deeper, for more information.

"Is he a good kisser?" Kanea asked smiling. Kiera nearly fell over and Youta fell off the bed from laughing so hard. "What? It is an important characteristic you know." She defended.

"I don't know Kanea, why don't you ask him tonight, we are going to have dinner with him at his house." Kiera smirked at the look of horror on Kanea's face.

"Oh but Kiera, I didn't bring anything nice to wear." She buried her head in her hands. Youta snickered.

"Kanea, you brought enough clothes to last a year, I can guarantee you have _something_ to wear." Youta said with a laugh.

"But its all old!" She whined.

"No one here has ever seen you in your nice clothes Kanea, I'm sure it will be fine." Kiera said soothingly to her distraught sister. Her sister sniffed and looked up to Kiera's face.

"Yeah, you're right sis!" Kanea smiled gratefully at her sister. But then another look of terror crossed her face. "But what about my hair!"

* * *

After Gaara explained the whole situation to Temari, and she stopped hurling objects at his head, they all went home to get prepared for dinner. The siblings had three cooks on their staff and were grateful to have all three of them cooking in over time to make the food for the gathering. Temari handed Gaara her son, Hirako, when she thought the table cloth 'wasn't right'. Gaara stayed stiff as a board with the baby in his arms. This was the first time he had ever seen his nephew and the very first time to hold a baby. The doorbell rang and everyone yelled 'get the door'. Since Gaara was the closest, he walked carefully to the door and used his sand to open the door. 

"Hey, were here! Who's baby is that?" Kiera looked strangely at the Kazekage holding the infant like it was about to explode.

"Uh… come in, this is my nephew Hiraku." Gaara walked to the main parlor with the three guests behind him. Suddenly the baby started crying and wouldn't stop.

"Temari!" Gaara shouted nervously. "He is crying."

"Astute observation master of the obvious, just hold on a minute." Temari looked down at them from the second story and smiled at the guests. "Please make yourselves at home."

Gaara looked as though he was going to loose it if the baby didn't stop crying. Kiera snicker slightly and went to Gaara with her hands open.

"Let me see him." Gaara happily obliged and handed off the wailing child. Kiera gently rocked and cooed to the baby until his cries stopped completely.

"What a handsome little man you are." She said softly, tickling the baby slightly, making him laugh. They all went to sit in chairs and sofas, Gaara took a seat next to Kiera who was still rocking the baby gently. It was then he realized she was not in her metallic gear. She had on a long white dress that showed her curves and had a gold cord wrapped around the middle. She had her short hair pinned up with soft wisps down framing her face. She wasn't wearing makeup, but she never needed it to begin with. Gaara could safely say she was beautiful, and having a baby in her arms, with the maternal instinct swirling around her made something primal in him stir.

"Wow, I have never seen him go to sleep in a stranger's arms before. Gaara, she is a keeper." Temari smiled at the scene before her. The blue haired girl smiled at the blonde woman and softly introduced herself. She kept her voice low to not wake the baby.

"Hey, dinner is on." Kankuro came around the corner, not wearing his usual face paint and black suit. He had on black pants and a plain white shirt. Kiera could hear her sister sigh and mumble something along the lines of 'he's cute' in her ear.

Temari took Kiera upstairs to put the baby in the crib.

"So, what are your intensions with my brother" Temari asked as they were leaving the nursery. Kiera laughed and nodded, knowing the sister act too well, being a sister herself.

"I want to perhaps one day, be his good friend if nothing more. I am attracted to him, and I know he would be good husband but I don't think he thinks I will be a very good wife. I am not used to being submissive and chasing after men, its really not in my nature, but if I don't marry Gaara I will be killed. He is taking pity on me I think, that is why he is trying to make it work." They descended the stairs, and Temari placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I can tell you aren't going to make his life hell, but be aware he had a hard life. Don't push him farther than his willing to go, and that includes love." Kiera nodded and they went into the dining room.

* * *

"…So then I said to him, that isn't a puppet." Kankuro told cheesy joke after cheesy story that had Gaara and Temari rolling their eyes, Kiera smirking at his antics, Youta enthralled with memorizing as many jokes as he could, and Kanea laughing sweetly, laying on the sugar.  
"Kanea dear, you must stop inflating his big head." Temari said at last, causing a ripple of laughter around the table. 

"I am sorry Temari-san, we don't have much laughter in my home. These jokes are wonderful." She said with a smile, wiping laughter tears from her eyes. Kankuro puffed up his chest with the complement and made a mental note to invite this girl to many more parties.

"So, any wedding plans yet?" Youta asked seriously. Kiera and Gaara both blushed and shook their heads in a 'no'.

"Are you kidding me?" Temari asked, raising her voice. "We got to start right away! First we need a caterer, and a florist, and oh goodness the invitations!..." she started listing the many various things they needed to do to the startled couple. "…You need to make a public announcement and invite dignitaries from allied villages…"

The supper was over and Kiera, Kanea, and Youta made their way to the door after saying thanks and complementing the food. Kanea gave a huge smile to Kankuro who grinned back.

"Oh Kankuro-san, if only I were a little older, perhaps it could have been a double wedding." Kanea said wistfully to a deeply red Kankuro before she left the house with a skip to her step.

"Oh man, you got Kanea's eye. Hope you're ready for a die hard fangirl." Youta laughed as he left the house. Kiera laughed and turned to Gaara.

"See you tomorrow?" she said softly. Gaara nodded and she left as well.

Gaara couldn't help the strange feelings he had rising in him. 'I shouldn't have made her hold that baby.'

* * *

A/N: Update for you… I don't know if I can update EVERY day but I will try to get it out there as often as possible. If I do update it will be from about 7-9am eastern standard time, so check then. PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks! 


	6. Mastery

Disclaimer: READ THE OTHER DISCLAIMERS

Chapter 6

Kanea woke up about ten thirty the next day, she was a bed bug and lived to sleep in and snuggle deeper and deeper into the warm covers. She stretched her arms and put on a scarlet robe over her pajamas. She yawned and headed to her sister's room, where she felt Kiera meditating.

Kiera could feel the moment Kanea woke and felt her move down the hall and up to her room. Kiera smiled and continued to meditate. Today, she was going to try to activate the Sharingan. This was the hardest thing she had ever tried because it is very hard to wield the Sharingan without being a direct descendent of the Uchiha line. Since she was a cousin of both the Uchihas and Hyugas, her clan could technically activate both Kekki Genkais with constant meditating and precise chakra control.

Kanea came into the room and sat on Kiera's bed, watching her meditate with interest.

'This is it!' Kiera thought and made hand signals. "Sharingan!" she yelled and opened her eyes to a new view of the world.

Kanea looked on in awe at her sister's eye transformation. It lasted for only two minutes before Kiera had to deactivate it from the pain, but it was a huge accomplishment. Kiera panted and looked to her sister with a huge grin on her face.

"I did it." She laughed weakly before passing out.

* * *

"I think she is coming around." Kiera heard voices above her, but the pounding in her head made her think twice about opening her eyes. She could now control the Byakugan to a degree. It still pained her, but not as much anymore, but the hardest part was training oneself to use such a powerful weapon.

The Sharingan was something completely different, and she knew that it would take a lot of work, headaches, and passing out to master it like she had her own Kekki Genkai the Noxlight.

Kiera slowly opened her eyes to see three blurry figures above her. Soon their faces became more defined and she smiled at Youta, Kanea, and Gaara.

"What were you thinking trying to activate the Sharingan?! You know it almost killed half of the clan when they tried, and if you have activated the Byakugan…" Kanea narrowed her eyes as Kiera looked away slightly at the mention of the Byakugan. "Kiera! There has been no one in our family to ever survive using all three Kekki Genkai! Even Azusa was eventually killed by it, what makes you think that you can?" Kanea scolded her sister like she was the younger one. Kiera rolled her eyes and realized that doing that hurt her head.

"Your sister is right Kiera, using the Byakugan and the Noxlight is dangerous enough, but the Sharingan… It can't be handled too long by a person not of the Uchiha clan and you know that." Youta said with concern in his voice. Gaara remained quiet in this affair, silently soaking up the information about the Saei clan's ancestors.

"Perhaps it is best she get some sleep." Gaara suggested, and the two others nodded in agreement and made their way to the door, noticing that Gaara was not following them.

"Are you going to yell at me too?" Kiera asked with a small sly smile. Gaara shook his head and sat down next to her on her bed.

"Tell me about your family." He said suddenly. Kiera narrowed her eyes, but seeing the genuine look of interest on Gaara's face, she nodded and began her story.

"My family was said to have started with a Uchiha boy, and a Hyuga girl, who were forbidden to see each other because the families hated each other at the time. It is said that a goddess came down from the heavens and joined the lovers in marriage, and giving them a new place to live, away from their feuding parents. They had two girls, Azusa, and Eniea and both had the ability to wield the Sharingan and the Byakugan. The mother and father of these girls were killed in a flood when the twin girls were only five. Their parents sacrificed their lives to save the rest of the village and the girls were raised in honor and brought into the wealthiest household to live. A few months after their parents died, Azusa was caught in a storm, she tried to run for shelter but was struck by a large bolt of lightning. As the little girl lay dying, the goddess came back down and fused the electricity in her body with her chakra. The little girl was saved and had acquired a new talent for controlling electricity. As the girls grew older, they started to grow away from each other. Azusa was only interested in training and being able to master the new power she had named the 'Noxlight'. Eniea was said to have been jealous of Azusa's power and told the villagers that Azusa was a witch who wanted to kill the children of the village to gain ultimate power. The naïve villagers accepted Eniea's story and Azusa was driven out of the village. Azusa found a hidden village called Cloud and was accepted in the secret ANBU there as an assassin. She built her reputation and soon got job offer after job offer. She saved all her money and placed it into a huge fund for the family she had always wanted. She got her wish about two years after coming to Cloud and married a fellow Shinobi with the last name of Saei.

Eniea, on the other hand, started lying uncontrollably. The goddess was punishing her for being jealous and bitter towards her sister, and soon the villagers captured her and burned her at the stake.

Azusa had a daughter and a son. The daughter was Fukiyo and the son was Kiro. As the children grew, the Saeis noticed something strange, the female members of the family were fifty times stronger then the male members and were able to use their Kekki Genkai more efficiently.

Kiro married a rich village girl and had a son who had no trace of the Noxlight, and Fukiyo married the strongest shinobi in the village, but kept her last name Saei. They had a daughter named Saeka who was my mother and a son named Nikamaru. My mother wasn't as strong as Azusa or Fukiyo, but she never wanted the power like the other women did. She met a poor shinobi named Masami and they fell deeply in love. Going against the wishes of her family, she married my father and had me a few years later, and my sister a few years after that. My mother was killed when I was six by invading Sound shinobi. My father was so heartbroken he took me out of the academy and trained me himself. He said that they didn't know how to train shinobi anymore and that I wasn't going to be killed so easily. He trained me hard, everyday for hours on end. Somedays I would come out of the dojo with broken limbs and missing a quart or two of blood. But it paid off, and soon I was stronger than my mother ever was.

My father died when I was nine, the doctors say he just finally gave up. It was the day he realized I mastered the Noxlight, I guess he thought I didn't need him anymore.

My uncle took me and my sister in, using the money my great grandmother had set aside. Kanea was put in academy when she was six, but I remained classified as a civilian, although by eleven I had surpassed most jonin. My village thought I was too strong, to unpredictable, but they tolerated me because I could save their asses if they needed it. I have many scars from protecting a village that hates me.

I love my ancestors, but hate my uncle and I will always hate the way he pushes Kanea and I down. By all rights she should be the clan leader. She is very smart and dedicated to her family. The village loves her, and she wants the life, unlike me." Kiera ended, looking up at the man sitting on her bed, looking at her with deep interest.

"Thank you." Was all he said, and placed a hand on her head. "Get some sleep." And he left.

* * *

_To the Hokage of Konoha, Tsunade,_

_The Cloud girl, Kiera of the Saei clan, and my unannounced fiancé is in need of more assistance than I can give. She possesses the ability to control the Byakugan as well as the Sharingan due to her ancestral ties to both the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. I would like to request Neji of the Hyuga clan and Hatake Kakashi to be sent at the earliest convience to train with her to master both Kekki Genkais. As you know, an un-mastered talent like this can cause destruction easily, and I wish to prevent it at all costs. _

_Please respond quickly, and I also request that no one be told about the impending marriage until everything is settled here. This includes a certain blonde._

_Thank you,_

_Gaara of the Sand, Kazekage of Suna_

Gaara finished the letter to Tsunade and sent it out with a chunin messenger. Gaara reclined in his chair thinking deeply about the strange events that has happened in the last few weeks.

"Gaara-sama. There is someone here to see you." Gaara broke from his thoughts and nodded to his secretary to let the person in. Little Kanea came in with the same air of grace her sister possessed. She sat down opposite to Gaara and thought for a minute before beginning the conversation.

"I worried about Kiera." She said bluntly. "She is pushing herself too hard with all the training she does. You know once after a really bad fight with our uncle, she locked herself in the dojo for three days. We heard a loud explosion and came rushing into the room to find Kiera lying unconscious and the room nearly blown to pieces. She woke two days later and had a huge grin on her face. When I asked what had happened, she told me she figured out how to summon lightning, but realized too late that she couldn't control it yet. She blew that dojo apart six more times before she mastered it." Kanea shook her head with the memory.

"Uncle was so mad, he used the submission jutsu on her. Uncle put her in a coma for three weeks, we didn't even know if she was going to live or die for a while." Her eyes welled up with tears. "When she woke, she went right back to training like nothing ever happened. She told me for years that she was so close to activating the hidden Kekki Genkai inside her, but I never thought she could actually do it. Gaara, she will not rest until she masters both of them like she mastered the Noxlight."

Gaara leaned forward and gave Kanea a reassuring smile. "I have sent a request for both a Byakugan and a Sharingan wielder to come and train with Kiera. If everything goes well she will have the best training she can get. I want her to be safe as well Kanea, and since I can tell she wont just give it up, this is our only option left." Kanea smiled a little at this and nodded her head. She stood and bowed to the Kazekage deeply.

"Thank you." She said sincerely and hurried out the door.

* * *

"Well at least you didn't blow yourself up this time, right?" Youta said optimistically to the blue haired girl who was presently stuffing her face with ramen.

"Ha, ha." She responded dryly. They had been sitting and talking about old times for a good hour before she realized she was being watched. She turned around to see Gaara coming towards them. Sand swirled around him as if asking to play, which made Kiera laugh a bit to think of sand wanting to play.

"Good afternoon Kiera, Youta. How are you feeling Kiera?" Gaara took a seat next to her as she thought carefully about her answer.

"Never better!" she smiled and re-submersed herself in her ramen. Gaara raised an eyebrow at her answer but didn't push it.

"So Gaara, whos that secretary, and is she single?" Youta asked suddenly to break the tension.

"Ugh Youta! Is that all you think about you perv?" Kiera wrinkled her nose in disgust at Youta's favorite topic of conversation.

"I believe so, actually she is just getting off of work now if you wish to properly introduce yourself." Gaara said casually. Youta grinned and took the bait.

"Hai! See you love birds later!" he said as a trail of dust was seen speeding towards the Kazekage's office.

"Ugh, don't encourage him." Kiera said after the dust started to settle.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Gaara asked suddenly. Kiera jumped slightly but then agreed, wondering what was up.

They walked along the edge of the city, talking about different ideas about politics and theories on different forms of jutsus, and anything else that managed to pop up until they were back where they started and it was getting dark out.

"Come with me, last time I promise." Gaara asked nervously. Kiera tensed at the tightness of his voice but agreed to follow him to the Kazekage's office. They walked up flight after flight of stairs until they were on the roof.

"Do I have your trust Kiera?" Gaara looked into her eyes, searching for any sign of doubt.

"You have it." She answered.

"PEOPLE OF SUNA!" he shouted and the bustling city was halted to look up to the Kazekage. Silence was like a blanket on the crowd as they waited for their leader to speak again.

"MY PEOPLE, I WISH TO DO SOMETHING THAT I WANT EVERY VILLAGER OF SUNA TO WITNESS." He took Kiera's hand and bent down on one knee. Kiera gasped as a diamond ring was presented before her.

"KIERA OF THE SAEI FAMILY OF CLOUD, WILL YOU MARRY ME?" Gaara looked only at the women in front of him when he asked his question. Many girls were in tears for the sheer romance of it all and many guys were straining their ears to hear an answer.

"YES!" Kiera exclaimed happily and Gaara slipped the ring on her finger. She leapt into his arms laughing. He smile a real smile, without reservations or regrets and looked to his villagers, who were all cheering.

"Now that was MUCH more romantic." Kiera chuckled quietly to her newly announced fiancé.

* * *

A/N: Please please please please please please review!!! Love it? Review! Hate it? Go away! On a bended knee…. I am a review junkie!!! THANK YOU!!!! 


	7. Training and Trials

Disclaimer: READ THE OTHER DISCLAIMERS

A/N: I had to change Kanea's age because the math didn't work out in my head. She is fifteen, and it is changed in the first chapter. I am sorry about that!

Chapter 7

"So the little brat is really getting married? To the Kazekage of all people, well isn't that just wonderful." Nikamaru sat on a chair in his lounge, slouching and brooding about his niece's new attempt to make him pissed off.

"Well I am sure Kanea will make an excellent clan leader dear." Teria said comfortingly.

"Kanea is just like her good for nothing mother! She doesn't have the power or the will to use what little power she has! All she will ever be good for is producing children, and even then they will probably be too weak to even pass academy." Nikamaru growled, throwing a cup of tea against the closest wall. Teria jumped and looked down into her hands.

"This has gone on long enough, if Kiera wont come home and be clan leader like she is supposed to then she should not be allowed to live anywhere. All people accused of treason are brought back to the village for trial, so lets find something treasonous for her to be brought back for." Nikamaru smiled evilly, and stood to call in a few favors to his corrupt friends in the Kage's office.

Teria stood nervously and went to the desk in the far end of the lounge and pulled out a small tape recorder. She smiled sadly, wiping a tear from her eye and placed the recorder in the folds of her kimono. She loved her nieces with all her heart, and this was going to be the last time that her husband hurt them.

* * *

Neji and Kakashi arrived a week after Gaara sent the letter, in exchange for four Suna shinobi, who specialized in construction, to help build a new section of Konoha. Neji would train with Kiera in the morning and Kakashi would train with her in the evening. Neji's training sessions were hard, and he made her keep her Bykugan activated for the entire two hours, which made her vomit from pain the first few times. It started getting easier to keep it activated and the pain started to dissapeare after the first couple sessions. The way he trained with her was helping her not only control the Kekki Genkai but helped her with her Taijutsu and taught her to use the gentle fist technique.

Kakashi's training was more focused on just the Sharingan. She could now hold it for twenty minutes, and was working on using it in combat. Kakashi was shocked that she was able to use it properly so quickly, but only mentioned his surprise to Gaara. Both Neji and Kakashi reported to Gaara after each training session to report how it was going.

Temari had started getting things together for the wedding, mostly from Konoha, but came often to Suna to finalized things like invitations, and the reception. Kanea and Youta had to go back to Cloud the week before the Konoha shinobi arrived. Kanea sent a letter to Kiera nearly every day, telling her how much she missed her and how much fun she had in Suna. Kanea didn't mention that her uncle had been becoming more verbally abusive to her and telling her things that made her feel so low.

Kiera was training one afternoon when six Cloud shinobi entered the village, one carrying a scroll. They surrounded her and the one with the scroll opened it and began reading from it.

"Kiera of the Saei clan, daughter of Saeka of the Saei clan of Cloud, you are under arrest for treason against the village of Cloud. You are to be brought before a jury of your peers to be judged for the offenses listed against you. First, that you betrayed information about the village of Cloud to enemy villages of Mist and Sound. Second that you took money to let enemy shinobi into Cloud to stage an attack, and third that you attempted murder on your uncle, Nikamaru of the Saei clan. Do you understand what you are being charged with." The man looked up to a bewildered Kiera.

"That's all lies! I never betrayed Cloud!" Kiera's electricity rose with her anger. During the reading, a passing by shinobi went to inform the Kazekage about what was going on. He came around the corner as Kiera's electricity started causing the hair on the arresting shinobi to stand slightly.

"What is going on?" Gaara asked darkly. One of the shinobi visibly gulped and began to tell the Kazekage of the offences listed against his fiancé.

"Kiera, calm down before you electrocute us all." Gaara said impatiently and stared at the lead shinobi. "You will not take anyone from this village. Go back to Cloud and we will follow shortly after." Gaara moved to Kiera's side, and Kiera started to calm down with his presence.

"I am afraid that aiding a criminal would most certainly cause hostilities between our two villages. A war is the last thing we need and if the criminal does not come with us then a war is most likely what will happen Kazekage. She will be tried in three days, and you may speak in her defense at that time, but a Kage must think of his village first and foremost." The lead shinobi said diplomatically. Kiera's anger spiked when he refered to her as a criminal, but dropped when she realized that by not going with the Cloud shinobi, she may cause a war.

"He is right Gaara, I have to go with them." She said quietly, with almost defeat in her voice. "I am not a criminal, and I have never caused any offence to Cloud and the law will prove that." She turned to him with her head held high and smiled slightly. "I aim to protect this village, and I will do so even if it causes my death." She turned away from her fiancé and walked to the lead shinobi and held out her right wrist.

"No, this is not right." Gaara took a step towards Kiera but the look in her eye made him stop again. She was right, but seeing the shinobi place the submission seal on her wrist made him angry. Angry that he could not do anything to prevent it, and angry for someone taking her away for a crime she didn't commit. He knew it was her uncle behind it and vowed to make him pay with his life if Kiera was hurt in any way. She let her hand fall to her side and turned to Kakashi and Neji and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for your training. Perhaps we may train together again in the future." She said warmly, and the two men bowed back to her.

"Come now." The lead shinobi said strongly and they were off, walking into the desert and towards Cloud.

* * *

"So you're the Kazekage's whore huh?" one of the Cloud shinobi pushed her roughly to the ground. She ground her teeth and stood back up not answering him. The shinobi laughed and took turnes pushing her around and using the seal whenever they wished. By the time she got to Cloud she was limping, had a black eye, and two broken ribs. She was taken to the interrogation unit where she was tortured for eight hours. They broke all her fingers and made her bleed out a quart of blood every couple of hours. She told them only that she had no clue about the charges and that she never betrayed the village. When they threw her in a cell, she curled up in a ball. She was in pain, and emotionally exhausted. Her chakra had been drained so she couldn't use the simple healing jutsus she knew. Somewhere around noon in the day before her trial she realized she had a very high fever. Her head was swimming and she couldn't keep any food down. The hours went by and the fever didn't break.

The door opened on the morning of the third day to reveal a very sick young woman who was half starved and burning up. They dragged her to the court house, while she was half unconscious. A shinobi threw her in a chair, jarring her ribs and making her more awake. She took a look around the courtroom and recognized a few familiar faces. Kanea and Youta were there, Kanea crying at her sister's appearance. Her aunt Teria and her nanny Kaja sat next to them, Kaja wiping tears with a handkerchief and her aunt looking stoically past her. Gaara stood in the corner with a look of anger across his face, Kankuro standing next to him, looking sympathetic. Her uncle Nikamaru stood up in front of the court room and began speaking.

Kiera was so sick she couldn't focus on what was going on. She heard her uncle tell the court about witnesses saying that she bribed guards, paid enemy villages to attack Cloud and give information about the fortifications to Sound. She heard her sister speak on her behalf, and Gaara telling about her character and showing the impossibility for her to have committed these crimes. She looked over the jury who looked at her as if she were guilty, and they couldn't wait to see her executed.

Then her aunt stood up and requested to speak. The Kage allowed it and Nikamaru looked at his wife with distrust and intimidated her with his eyes. She looked right past him and placed a small voice recorder on the Kage's stand. He played it and gasped in horror.

"You used this village to get even with your niece, Nikamaru?" The Kage growled and played the recording loud enough for everyone to hear.

The jury began to whisper and point at Nikamaru.

"No, that never happened, this is a hoax!" Nikamaru screamed and pointed at Kiera. "YOU!" he lounged at her, only to be stopped by a wall of sand. Four shinobi put Nikamaru in chains and hauled him away. The charges were dropped and the seal was taken off of Kiera's wrist.

"Oh Kiera, you're burning up! Please someone get a doctor!" Kanea was frantic, putting a hand on her sister's forehead. Kiera passed out, but could hear voices all around her. Kanea was crying, and Gaara was threatening the doctor if he didn't help her more quickly. Soon the voices stopped and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Kiera woke a few hours later, her fever was gone and the pain in her hands and ribs were gone. She looked around the room and saw hundreds of flowers around her room. She smiled gently and then noticed someone sitting at the corner of her bed, looking out of a window.

"Gaara." She whispered, and he whipped his head around to face her, his eyes wide with surprise.

"You're awake." He stated dazed.

"No, I'm faking it." She said sarcastically, which brought a small smile to Gaara's lips. "What happened?"

"Your uncle is being charged with bribery and blackmailing government officials. He will be tried in a week. You have been cleared of all charges and are free to go as you please." Kiera smiled and looked out the window.

"Where is aunt Teria?" she asked after a long pause.

"Outside in the waiting room with your sister, friend, and nanny. Would you like me to get her?" Gaara stood up slowly and walked to the door when Kiera nodded.

A few minutes after Gaara left, her aunt walked in the room. She smiled at her niece and took a seat next to her bed.

"Thank you." Kiera said, emotion filling her voice. She realized that her aunt gave up her husband to save her life and she was going to be forever grateful.

"Just be happy Kiera, live and be free with your life." Teria said with tears in her eyes. Kiera nodded and reached out to hug her aunt. They stayed like that for a few moments before Teria stood and wiped her eyes. "Your sister wants to see you now, and I do have a request." Kiera nodded and her aunt continued. "Take Kanea with you, she loves you and wants to be free as well. Will you honor me by doing that?" Kiera's eyes welled up with tears and she nodded. Teria bent over and kissed her niece on the forehead before leaving.

A few days later, Kiera, Kanea, Gaara, and Kankuro were on their way back to Suna. They were greeted by the whole village and the shinobi. Kiera took Gaara's hand and smiled at him.

"We're home." She said.

* * *

Gaara walked around nervously, waiting for Kiera to come. He had kicked Kankuro out of the house and invited Kiera to dinner, just the two of them. It had been ten days since they returned from Cloud, and they wanted time to talk alone, without siblings and nosey villagers in the way.

A knock made Gaara jump and move quickly to the door. Kiera stood on the porch with a long black halter dress on, her hair was spiked in its usual messy way and she smiled sweetly when he dropped his jaw at her appearance.

"You look nice too." She said as she walked passed him and into the house. She set her bag down on one of the chairs and turned to face him. "So what's for dinner?"

They talked for hours about everything from the insanely trivial to the most complex of conversations. He had her laughing at Naruto stories and she told him of all the ways she used to piss her uncle off.

"Well, its getting pretty late." She said looking at the clock. Gaara nodded and stood to walk Kiera to the door. They got halfway to the door before Gaara grabbed her wrist and spun her into the wall, pressing up against her. She blushed and tried to ask what he was doing before he pressed his lips on hers. She soon relaxed and kissed him back, and what started as a fiery kiss turned into a fiery make-out session. They explored each other's mouths as they pressed closer together. Kiera broke the kiss panting, and looked into Gaara's eyes.

"Wow." Was all she could muster and Gaara smirked. "I should go, before I cant leave." She whispered. He groaned at the meaning of her words and gave her another passionate kiss before forcing himself to back away.

"If you keep wearing things like that, I may not make it to the wedding night before being forced to take you." Gaara said huskily, making Kiera weak in the knees. She backed towards the door and opened it up.

"Keep talking like that and_ I_ wont make it to the wedding night before taking _you_." She smirked and left quickly before Gaara could capture her again.

Gaara shut the door and pressed his forehead up against it. That woman was making him loose control of himself. After seeing her beat to hell at the trial, something inside him snapped and all he could think about was protecting her and keeping her close to him so no one could hurt her again. The dress had stirred the primal feelings again and made him wish she wasn't wearing as much as she was. He took a deep breath and went to take a very cold shower.

* * *

A/N: Sexual tension anyone? Please R&R! Thank you to my lovely reviewers! 


	8. Finally

Disclaimer: READ THE OTHER DISCLAIMERS

Chapter 8

"I'm going to puke." Kiera said soberly, dressed in a beautiful white wedding dress. Temari and Kanea ran to her side and said encouraging words to her, rubbing her back. Today was the big day and so far Kiera had passed out twice, almost set herself on fire making tea, and nearly broke her neck slipping on the soap in the shower. Kanea and Temari had ordered her to sit down and not move until the wedding started for fear of further accidents.

* * *

"I'm going to vomit." Gaara said with a pale face. Kankuro and Youta rushed to his side and made him sit down. He was dressed in traditional Suna robes of black and red. This morning Gaara had fell down his stairs, but thankfully was saved a broken neck from his sand. He also nearly choked to death on his breakfast and hit his head on a mantle when he sneezed too hard, almost knocking him out. Kankuro and Youta made him stay put after all that until the ceremony started.

* * *

Three hundred Suna and Konoha people were sitting or standing by a large wooden platform where the ceremony was going to be held. Gaara and Kiera took turns looking nervously out to the crowd on opposite ends of the crowd. It was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding after all.

The music started and Gaara's face paled to a new level as he slowly stepped forward to take his place at the front of the proceeding. Kankuro and Youta stood next to him and had to keep reminding to breathe.

Kanea started walking down the isle, eyes locked on an uncomfortable Kankuro. She looked stunning in a long scarlet dress that accented her curves. She had her long blue hair pinned up in an intricate style, and had a touch of make-up on her flawless face. She took her place and gave Kankuro a wink.

Temari was next; she was wearing the same red dress as Kanea but had her hair in their usual buns. She passed her husband, holding their son and gave him a smirk, she knew he thought she looked good by the grin on his face. She took her place next to Kanea.

The entire crowd stood as Kiera started walking down the isle. She focused on Gaara and kept walking, not thinking about the ton of people looking at her. She had fought hundreds of battle hardened killers, but she had never been as scared as she was now. The walk to the alter was a blur, but Gaara's look of awe made it possible to stop in front of him, and let him raise her veil.

"Dearly beloved…" They kept breathing.

"Kiera of Cloud do you take…" She managed to say "I do".

"Gaara of the Sand do you take…" He managed to say "I do".

"You may kiss the bride." She felt his lips gently caress her own, she was soon lost in the moment, and the cheering of the crowd was the only thing that brought them back. They smiled, it was over.

"Gaara-sama! Mist and Sound are attacking!" A guard shinobi screamed from one of the towers. Gaara turned to his wife, who turned to him. With a big sigh, Kiera lifted up her massive dress and headed to the gates with her husband at her side.

"Let me take care of them dear? They are crashing my wedding after all." She said with a deadly calm and a small smirk. Gaara returned a smirk and let his wife walk ahead towards a wall of invading shinobi. The skies turned black and lightning filled the sky.

* * *

Three years later…

"Oh Kankuro! Its my 18th birthday, and you promised that you would give me my first birthday kiss!" Kanea turned the corner to find that Kankuro had escaped again. She sighed and then smiled evilly. She opened the closed door quickly to find a cowering Kankuro. She smiled and closed the door behind her.

"No, Kanea, no… wait… help!" screams came from the closet as Gaara and Kiera walked by, cocking their heads to the side. Kiera laughed and gave her husband a knowing look.

"She found him." She giggled and Gaara shook his head and headed to the other room. Kiera followed him, picking up a red haired, blue eyed baby boy toddler on the way.

"Aunt Kanea finally cornered Uncle Kankuro. What do you think Sora?" The baby giggled as she tickled his tummy.

Kiera was finally happy, loved, and best of all free.

* * *

_"What a stranger he is who is surprised by anything which happens in life_."- Marcus Aurelius.

A/N: Finished! This was much more light and fluffy then my original idea, but I don't get all dark and depressed, and I like happy endings so there. Thank you for reading! I will be writing another story VERY soon, so please stay tuned!


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